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Jalen Dye wants to be part of the turnaround at Kansas

Last week the Jayhawks secured a commitment from Jalen Dye from Palomar College in California. Dye gave his commitment at the end of his official visit when he met with the coaching staff.

He made the food taste better for the KU coaches when he broke the news.

“I committed because it felt like home,” Dye said. “I committed at breakfast with Coach Leipold and Coach Borland. Everyone was excited.”

Dye was exactly what the coaches have been looking for in the late recruiting period. They needed help in the secondary and Dye gives them a lot of versatility.

He started his career at Arizona State before transferring to Palomar College. Last season at Palomar he started the season as a cornerback and moved to free safety. He showed the ability to play both successfully picking off four passes and making 51 tackles.

Dye was the only player from his team selected as a member of the Southern California Football Association first team.

“The coaches mentioned they love my versatility and that I could be used in three different positions on defense,” he said.

Dye and his father feel the KU football program is going in the right direction
Dye and his father feel the KU football program is going in the right direction

Kansas running back Devin Neal was his host and showed him around campus.

“Devin was great to me,” Dye said. “He had dinner with us and hung out with him after. He drove me around campus and told me about the school and the vibe of Lawrence. I think we have similar personalities.”

Dye’s father, Jermaine, went on the visit with him. It is an area he is familiar with when he played for the Kansas City Royals for five seasons. He played in the majors for 14 seasons and was the MVP of the 2006 World Series with the White Sox.

“The visit went really well and turned out to better than I was expecting,” Jermaine told Jayhawk Slant. “We knew there was a new coaching staff and a younger team. I will tell you Coach Leipold and the whole staff really did a great job of representing KU and making us feel welcomed.”

After listening to the coaches present their plan and talk about the direction of the program, Dye felt Lawrence would be a good place for his son.

“Jalen and I truly felt like he would be a great fit at KU because he feels KU is going in the right direction under the leadership of Coach Leipold and his staff,” Jermaine said. “Jalen wanted to be somewhere that had a college atmosphere and where he would have a chance to compete and be a part of a team built on culture and work ethic.”

Since Dye is an academic qualifier, he is eligible to leave Palomar and enroll at Kansas in the near future. He will have three years of eligibility remaining and said he plans to arrive soon.

“I just wanted to be at a school where it felt like home and I would get a chance to play and help the team win,” he said. “At KU I feel I can do that especially coming in at a time where Coach Leipold is going to turn this program around.”

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